1.

To forgive is to take the utmost revenge.

Is death the end?¹

Death is not the end. Death can never be the end. Death is the road. Life is the traveller. The soul is the guide. When the traveller is tired and exhausted, the guide instructs the traveller to take either a short or a long rest and then again the traveller’s journey begins.

In the spiritual life, when an aspirant does not cry for a higher light, bliss and power, it is the birth of his death. In the ordinary life, when an unaspiring man wallows in the mire of ignorance, it is the real victory of death.

What can we learn from the inner life which desires the extinction of death? The inner life tells us that life is soulfully precious, time is fruitfully precious. Life without the aspiration of time is meaningless. Time without the aspiration of life is useless.

Our mind thinks of death. Our heart thinks of life. Our soul thinks of immortality. Mind and death can be transcended. Heart and life can be expanded. Soul and immortality can be fulfilled. When the mind and death are transcended, man will have a new home: light, light of the Beyond. And when the soul and immortality are fulfilled, man will have a new goal: delight, the transcendental Delight.

Today man feels that death is an unavoidable necessity. Tomorrow man will feel that immortality is an unmistakable reality.

Unfortunately, most of us cherish wrong conceptions of death. We think death is something unusual. It is something destructive and so forth. But we have to know that right now death is something natural, normal and to some extent inevitable.

Lord Krishna tells Arjuna, “Oh, Arjuna, certain is death for the born and certain is birth for the dead. Therefore what is inevitable ought not be a cause for thy sorrow.”

Chhandogya Upanishad tells us something significant: “When the hour of death approaches (that is to say, in the final hour) what should we do? We should take refuge in three sublime thoughts — we are indestructible; we can never be shaken; we are the very essence of life.”

When the hour of death approaches us, if we feel that we can never be destroyed, nothing can shake us and we are the very essence of life, then where is sorrow, where is fear, where is death? No death.

Sarada Devi, the consort of Sri Ramakrishna, said something very significant. She said, “The difference between a spiritual man and an ordinary man is very simple. Easily you can know the difference between the two. An ordinary man cries and sheds bitter tears when death approaches him; whereas a spiritual man, if he is really spiritual, he will laugh and laugh when death approaches him, for to him death is fun, nothing else.”

Here we have to say that a spiritual man enters into the cosmic game, he becomes a conscious instrument of the cosmic game. That is why he knows that death is not an extinction. It is only a short or a long rest.

Again and again, we shall have to come back into the world. We have to work for God, here on earth. There is no escape. We have to realise the Highest here on earth. We have to fulfill the Highest on earth. God will not allow us to waste or squander the potentialities and possibilities of the soul. Impossible.

Kipling’s immortal utterance runs: “They will come back — come back again, as long as the red Earth rolls. He never wasted a leaf or a tree. Do you think He would squander souls?”

Each incarnation is leading us toward a higher life, a better life. We are in the process of evolution. Each incarnation is a rung in the ladder of evolution. Man is progressing consciously and unconsciously. But if he makes progress in each incarnation consciously, then he is expediting his spiritual progress. His realisation will be much faster than those who are making progress unconsciously.

We know, we started our journey from the mineral life, then we entered into the plant life. Then we entered into the animal kingdom. Then, from there we have come into the human world. But here is not the end. We have to grow into divine beings. Unless and until we have become divinised and transformed, God will not be satisfied with us. He can manifest in us and through us only when we are totally transformed and fully illumined and divinised. But when we think of our evolution, inner evolution, outer evolution, we get abundant joy. We lose nothing, nothing in the so-called death.

Jalalu’d-din Rumi most beautifully and soulfully tells us about evolution:

What is death after all? Death is a sleeping child. And what is life? Life is a child that is playing, singing, dancing at every moment before the Father.

Now, death is the sleeping child inside the heart of the Inner Pilot. Life is inspiration. Life is aspiration. Life is realisation. Life is not the reasoning mind. Life is not the intellectual mind. Life is not a game of frustration. No. Life is the message of divinity on earth. Life is God’s conscious channel to fulfill divinity in humanity on earth.

There is much truth in what Confucius says: “We don’t know life. How can we know death?” Now, I wish to say, we can know life. If we know life, realise life as God’s embodiment of Truth, Light, Peace and Bliss, then we know what Life truly is and death is nothing but a rest and a rest is necessary at the present stage of evolution. There will come a time when rest will not be necessary at all. Only Life will reign supreme — the Life of the Beyond, the Life of the ever-transcending Beyond. This Life is not and cannot be the sole monopoly of an individual. No. Each human being is to be flooded with this Life of the ever-transcending Beyond, for here it is in this Life divine that God will manifest Himself unreservedly — here, here on earth.

2.

Experience is the food of the fool. Faith is the food of the wise.

The end of all knowledge²

Aum. Purnam…

“Infinity is that. Infinity is this. From infinity, infinity has come into existence. From infinity, when infinity is taken away, infinity remains.”

The end of all knowledge. The end of all knowledge is God-knowledge. This knowledge tells man what he can eventually be. This knowledge tells man that he can have a conscious and inseparable oneness with God.

Here at this point, the Son of God tells us: “I and my Father are one.” On the strength of his highest realisation and inseparable oneness with his Father, he says, “I and my Father are one.”

God-knowledge tells us that God is not only within us or is not only for us, but also we are, each human being is, of Him. Finally, this God-knowledge tells us that each human being has to become God himself.

Brahmosmi… “I am the Brahman. I am God.” This is what we have learned from the Vedic seers of yore. The Vedic seers realised the supreme Truth and then offered the supreme Truth to mankind, Today’s man, today’s unrealised, unfulfilled man is tomorrow’s realised and fulfilled God.

The end of human knowledge is the beginning of the divine knowledge. The divine knowledge and human ignorance — these are two things we see in our day-to-day life. The divine knowledge is an illumining, fulfilling and immortalising power. The human ignorance is a mad elephant, a destructive power. The divine knowledge is the very birth of immortality. Human ignorance is the song of death.

I am sure most of you are well acquainted with our Upanishads. There is an Upanishad name Kanshitaki Upanishad. Unfortunately, this Upanishad is not well known. This Upanishad offers a sublime knowledge, wisdom. It says:

Here at this point, I wish to say from the spiritual point of view — peace, light and bliss — these qualities are not what one desires to understand, but one has to know the living embodiment of peace, light, bliss and power. It is he who can bring to the fore these divine qualities — peace, light and bliss of the sincere aspiring souls. It is he who has the capacity to inspire the seekers and at the same time, it is he who is of considerable help to awaken the slumbering consciousness of human souls. And then it is he who expedites the seeker’s journey.

The end of all knowledge is self-knowledge. “Know thyself” — which all of you know. And the Sanskrit term for it — “Atmanam Viddhi.” Know thyself. How can we know ourselves? We have to know ourselves by taking help from someone who has already known himself. He is our teacher. He is our private tutor and not a school teacher. A school teacher is entitled to examine us, to pass or fail us, but this private tutor helps us to pass the examination well. He wholeheartedly teaches us, helps us to pass the examination. So a spiritual teacher is a private tutor and not a school teacher.

Self-knowledge is self-discovery and in self-discovery we feel the conquest of our own self. Self-discovery, God-knowledge and self-conquest — these are one and the same.

Welsh Triad said:

In our spiritual life, we have one more category — man of God, the messenger of God, the representative of God, the channel of God, the instrument of God. This instrument of God constantly feels that he is not the doer; he is a mere instrument.

Lord Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, the Song Celestial, tells his dearest friend and disciple, Arjuna: “Nimitta matram bhava savyasachi Arjuna.” You just become an instrument.

So the man of God feels in the inmost recesses of his heart that he is a mere instrument. He works for God; he lives for God. He feels that God-realisation is not enough. He feels that God-manifestation here on earth is of paramount importance. Many have realised the Highest, the transcendental Truth. There are few who cry for the perfection of humanity. There are very few who try to change the face of the world. The chosen instruments of God want to manifest God here on earth. They do not care so much for earthly good, or evil. They transcend the so-called good and evil. They care only for God’s inner dictates. Constantly they listen to the dictates of their Inner Pilot and then on the strength of their oneness, inseparable oneness with their Inner Pilot, they offer their selfless, dedicated service to humanity. They try to offer knowledge, divine knowledge to aspiring humanity. Again, they tell humanity that God-realisation is not their sole monopoly. Everybody has to realise God, the transcendental Truth. Everybody is destined to realise the highest Truth, but he who cries for the inner light will naturally reach the goal sooner than the one who is still fast asleep.

The great Saviour has taught us: “No man can serve two masters.” Here we have two masters — ignorance and knowledge. Now if we want to wallow in the pleasures and mires of ignorance, we are serving ignorance the master. Again, it is we who have the opportunity to serve the other master, knowledge, the light. Now, if we aspire, then our master is knowledge and knowledge-light. If we want to serve our master, knowledge-light, then the message of realisation, the message of perfection, can never remain a far cry.

The immortal poet, George Eliot sings: “Our deeds still travel with us from afar and what we have been makes us what we are.”

From the spiritual point of view, what do we learn from this soulful message? We come to learn that we have been victims to teeming desires and here is the result — we are still earth-bound. We are bound by fetters of ignorance, we are caught. We want to possess the world. To our widest surprise and sorrow, we are already caught, we are already possessed.

Now again, it is we who have the capacity, potentiality, opportunity to free ourselves from the mire of ignorance. If we aspire today, tomorrow we are growing into a divine reality and in that divine reality our realisation will loom large.

We have to know at every moment that we have to be true to ourselves. Do we want light? Do we want perfection? Or just curiosity do we want to have an iota of light and truth. Unless and until we are true to ourselves, true to our inner quest, we can never, never see the face of reality, fulfilment and perfection.

Most of you know this: the immortal poet, Shakespeare, in Hamlet says: “This above all, — To thine own self be true; And it shall follow as the night the day, Thou canst not be false to any man.”

If we really want the inner light, if we really have the inner cry to see God face to face, there can be nothing either on earth or in heaven to deny us, deny our soul’s inmost quest. Each individual being has limited freedom. This freedom can be utilised either to aspire or to desire. If we desire, the teeming clouds will undoubtedly eclipse our knowledge-sun. If we aspire, God, the Inner Pilot will inspire us to run fast, faster, fastest towards the destined goal, the goal of the Beyond.

When we enter into the spiritual life, we come to realise that there is no end to our journey. Today we may think that this is the goal we have been crying for. But when we go deep within, we feel that today’s goal is tomorrow’s starting point.

God is in everything. We have to see God in everything, feel God in everything, in every human being. But that is not enough. We have to see, feel, realise — then we have to go one step further. We have to realise that there is no end to our realisation. Every moment we have to feel that on the strength of our highest realisation, we are going, we are running towards the ever-transcending Beyond.

The end of all knowledge is God-knowledge. We have to see God. This is the ultimate knowledge. Now, there are three ways to see God. One way is to see God through a window. This we can do if we concentrate daily, say, for six hours on God. But if we want to see God through an open door, then we have to meditate. We have to meditate daily for at least twelve hours. But if we want to see God face to face as you are seeing me and I am seeing you, face to face, then we have to meditate 24 hours a day.

To see God constantly face to face is the beginning and blossoming of the transcendental knowledge.

The strongest power

The strongest power is not in fighting against ten at a time, but carrying out one’s duty.

Perfection-goal³

Perfection-goal. Perfection is the seeker’s fulfilling realisation and fulfilled manifestation. Everything else has dawned on earth save perfection, perfect perfection. Perfection is the tree. Perfect perfection is the fruit.

Man’s speculation about perfection is his ignorance. Man’s concentration on perfection is his knowledge. Man’s meditation on perfection is his wisdom. Man’s contemplation on perfection is his world-illumining, world-transforming inner eye.

God’s Message is perfection. Man’s message is temptation.
God’s Message is perfection. Man’s message is frustration.
God’s Message is perfection. Man’s message is destruction.

Perfection-goal and the freedom-soul go together. He who reached the state of freedom-soul has conquered his inner life and immortalised his outer life.

He is the chosen instrument of God. He is the direct channel of God. He is the representative of God here on earth.

Cry and try. When we cry to see the transcendental Light and when we try to perfect our outer nature, our perfection does not remain a far cry. Perfection is ours.

Exert and control. When we exert the divine in us and control the animal in us, perfection begins to dawn within us. The flower of perfection blooms.

See and be. When we try to see the truth with the Eye of God, not with our eyes and when we consciously try to be the surrendered instrument of God, perfection in no time dawns. The Golden All of perfection beckons our aspiring hearts. It is true that perfection cannot be achieved overnight. Realisation cannot be achieved all at once. It takes time.

Let me tell you a story. A young seeker once came up to a spiritual master for initiation. He was duly initiated by his Master. Then the following day he said to his Master, “Master, now that you have initiated me, you have to give me realisation. I want to see God.” The Master said, “My child, how is it possible for you to realise God in one day.”

Again two days later, he said, “Oh, I want to realise God.” The Master said, “You are not ready.” A few days later, again the same question, “Master, I want to realise God.” He has not completed his task. He has not launched into the spiritual path properly. Just the other day the Master has initiated him but now he is crying for realisation without following the proper method. Without swimming in the sea of aspiration, he wants to realise God.

The Master was going to the Ganges for a dip and he invited this particular disciple to come with him. The disciple followed. So the Master and the disciple entered into the water and the Master pressed the head of the disciple down into the water for a couple of minutes, then he released it. The Master asked. “What did you feel when I pressed your head into the water?” “Master, I was dying. I was gasping for air. I was practically dying and I thought I would die. The moment you released me, I got my life back.” The Master said, “If you can come to that particular state of consciousness that without God you can’t stay even for a few minutes, you will realise God. You will realise God at that moment on the strength of your highest aspiration. Inmost inner flame has to be kindled and then you have to cry, cry for God as a child cries for his mother. Then only God-realisation is possible.”

The disciple got the lesson. Truly and soulfully he entered into the spiritual life. He listened to his Master’s dictates at every moment. Wholeheartedly he launched into the spiritual life. He felt the necessity of freedom from the domain of desires. He felt the necessity to grow into the mounting flame which is called aspiration, constant aspiration. Then realisation for him was not a far cry. He did realise God.

When we use the term “heaven,” we feel heaven is all light, delight and perfection. But where is that heaven? It is deep within us, in the inmost recesses of our hearts. High heaven, higher heaven and highest heaven are all within us. When we offer our soulful thoughts to our brothers and sisters, we live in high heaven. When we offer the results of our soulful actions to mankind, we live in higher heaven. Finally, when we offer our soulful existence to humanity at large, unreservedly and unconditionally, we live in the highest heaven.

We can live in the highest heaven every day. God has given us the capacity. He has given us the potentiality. It is we who have to manifest our inner potentiality and capacity. We all are surcharged with indomitable inner courage. Unfortunately, we do not use our inner unlimited capacity. We use our outer limited capacity. We are afraid of diving deep within. Inside is the treasure. Inside is the key. We do not know where we have kept the key. We have totally forgotten. We do not know where the treasure lies. Here at this point is the necessity of a spiritual master who knows where the key is and where the treasure lies. He does not give something of his own to the seeker. He only brings to the fore the seeker’s inner wealth. God-realisation is not his sole monopoly. Everybody has to realise God without fail. It is a matter of time. One realises God today on the strength of his highest realisation. Another realises God tomorrow on the strength of his sincere aspiration. Everybody has to realise God, at God’s choice hour. Again, the sincere seekers can expedite their journey. We can walk towards our goal. We can march towards our goal. We can run towards our goal. If we run, naturally we shall reach the goal sooner than one who is walking towards his destination.

Perfection-goal. Perfect perfection here on earth has to be manifested, but how? We have to start our journey with inspiration. We have to feel deep within us every day in all our activities the necessity of inspiration. No inspiration, no proper achievement. Then we have to go one step ahead. After inspiration we have to feel the momentous necessity of aspiration. Inspiration is not all. We have to aspire to reach the Golden All, to see the golden shores of the Beyond, ever-transcending Beyond. This is what we expect from aspiration, the mounting flame within us.

Then, aspiration is also not enough. We have to meditate. Aspiration includes meditation. When we meditate, we have to feel that we are entering into infinity, eternity and immortality. These are not vague terms — infinity, eternity and immortality. These are our possessions. To enter into our own divine possessions, infinity, eternity and immortality, is our birthright.

Then, when we are advanced in our meditation, when meditation starts offering its fruit to us, we enter into the realm of realisation. We realise the highest Truth in this body, here on earth. We don’t have to go elsewhere to realise God. We don’t have to enter into the Himalayan caves or we don’t have to sit on the snowcapped mountains in order to practise spirituality. No. Here on earth, in the hustle and bustle of life, we have to practise spirituality. We have to accept earth as it stands, as it is. If we are afraid of earth, if we fight shy of earth, then God-realisation will always remain a far cry. Here on earth we have to realise the highest Truth.

Then, realisation is also not enough. After realisation we have to reveal our realisation. If we don’t reveal our realisation, we act like a miser. We want to hoard our treasure. No. We have to offer our realisation in the form of revelation to mankind.

Revelation is also not enough. We have to enter into the domain of manifestation. If we do not manifest what we have realised here on earth; if Mother-Earth does not receive the fruit of our realisation and if she does not have it for good, we can never be truly fulfilled. Mother-Earth has to be fed with the fruits of our realisation. Here on earth the manifestation of realisation has to take place and when manifestation takes place, perfection is bound to dawn. Perfect perfection is nothing other than absolute manifestation of God’s Transcendental Will here on earth.

We are all seekers of the infinite Truth. It is our bounden duty to rise high, higher, highest. Each human being has come into the world with the message of perfection. No human being on earth will remain unrealised. No human being on earth will remain unfulfilled. No human being will remain on earth imperfect. Realisation, fulfillment and perfection — these three are brothers. Realisation is the youngest, fulfillment is the middle and perfect perfection is the eldest in the family. These three brothers must go together. They have to walk along the field of aspiration. They have to swim in the sea of meditation. They have to fly in the sky, the blue welkin of contemplation. God-realisation, God-revelation and God-manifestation can take place only when man feels that he has to transcend himself. His goal of today is not the ultimate Goal. Today’s goal has to be transcended tomorrow. Today’s goal is the foundation-stone. Every moment we have to transcend ourselves and while transcending, deep within us we shall cherish the message of perfection. Perfection is bound to loom large and important in all our activities if we feel that aspiration is the only thing we need and we are striving for. In aspiration is the key that can open up ultimately the door of perfect perfection.

How to conquer fear⁴

How to conquer fear. Our body is limited. That is why the body has fear. Our vital is unconscious. That is why the vital has fear. Our mind is obscure. That is why the mind has fear. Our heart is not aspiring, that is why the heart has fear.

To free our body from fear what we need is the glorious experience of our soul. To free our vital from fear, what we need is the dynamic and conscious expansion of our soul. To free our mind from fear, what we need is the transforming illumination of our soul. Finally, to free our heart from fear, what we need is the fulfilling perfection of our soul.

Man’s fear does not allow him to see the face of reality, the ultimate Reality. Man’s fear does not allow him to reach the golden shores of the Beyond. Man’s fear does not allow him to fulfil God for God’s sake. But God the Author of all good, has boundless Compassion, Concern and Love for mankind. God’s Compassion saves man. God’s Concern liberates man. God’s Love fulfils man.

When we unconsciously think of fear or cherish fear, Fear smilingly shakes hands with us. When we consciously think of fear or cherish fear, Fear triumphantly embraces us. And when we unconsciously think of our inner courage, Cod cries with His divine cry, for He feels here He has got a chosen instrument of His.

Now, earth is afraid of heaven’s transcendental Light. Heaven is afraid of earth’s abysmal ignorance. God says to earth, “My son, don’t act like a fool. Heaven’s transcendental Light is not going to blind you. Heaven’s Light is not going to expose you. On the contrary, heaven’s Light is going to illumine you. Heaven’s Light is going to transform you.” God says to heaven, “Don’t be a fool. Earth’s abysmal ignorance cannot bind you, cannot destroy you. On the contrary, earth’s ignorance will be offered to you. It is you who will transform the teeming ignorance of earth. It is you who will transform the face of earth.” God says: “I need both of you — heaven and earth. Heaven! The message of realisation you will have to give to earth. Earth! The message of manifestation, my divine manifestation, you will have to offer to heaven.”

Fear comes from our deep-rooted ignorance. We do not see the light with our inner vision. We see the light with our outer, human, limited, earthbound understanding.

Let me tell you a short story. An old man passing by, was walking along the street in the evening. There was no light. He came across a rope. He thought that this rope was nothing other than a snake. He was all fear. He cried out at the top of his voice and he ran as fast as he could and while running, he fell down and broke his leg. His friends nearby heard him shouting and screaming. So they came together with sticks. He was shouting all the time, thinking there was a snake. His friends came with sticks and they, too, thought that it was a snake. It was all dark. They started striking the rope and while striking, unfortunately, they hit one another.

Now, the shouting continued. Another band, another party came with light. They came with a torch and they discovered that it was just a piece of rope and not a snake. So when the light entered, they discovered that it was a rope and not a snake.

Similarly, in our human life, when light enters into our physical consciousness, all kinds of fear are bound to disappear. We are wanting in light. That is why fear at every moment consciously, deliberately looms large in our life of desire and in our life of aspiration. But if we are sincere enough to go deep within and feel that inner courage belongs to us, inner courage can at any moment dawn. It is more than willing to come to the fore. To bring this inner courage to the fore is the conscious awakening of our inner being. Everyone has this inner being. Unfortunately, very few of us want to feed this inner being. We feed our body in order to strengthen ourselves. We study books to feed our minds. We do many things to energise our outer being. But we do practically nothing to feed our inner being. It is in our inner existence that we can grow into an adamantine will and when we use our adamantine will, which we can easily have at our behest, we can conquer the very breath of fear. Here on earth our inner adamantine and indomitable will can and will reign supreme. Only one thing we need — our conscious awareness of the divine light which is ours and it is our birthright to realise and fulfil this inner light. There can be no fear, there can be no iota of fear when we live in the effulgence of our soul. And to live constantly in the divine effulgence of our soul only one thing we need and that is conscious inner cry. This inner cry is called aspiration, the mounting flame deep within us. When this flame rises up towards the highest, it illumines all around. Darkness is transformed into light, fear into strength, doubt into certainty, ignorance into wisdom and death into immortality.

3.

I do not want to be a walking dictionary of the world. I want to be a fixed faith in the Unseen. Mastery is not my goal. My goal is surrender.

Occultism⁵.

Occultism is a vast subject. If I am allowed to speak on this subject, I can go on talking for hours and hours. Since time is limited, I wish to give a short talk on occultism.

Occultism is an art. It is an inner art. Occultism is a science. It is an outer science. Occultism as an art awakens and inspires our inner life. Occultism as a science energises, stimulates our outer life. A great occultist is a dynamic athlete. He fights against doubt. He fights against impurity. He fights against imperfection.

If you want to be an occultist, a divine athlete, then your life-boat has to ply between the shores of self-observation and self-correction in the river of emotion. That is to say, the human emotion has to be curbed, perfected. But the divine emotion has to be practised, enlarged. This divine emotion makes us feel that we are in God, with God and for God. Human emotion is otherwise. It binds us and with the help of this emotion we try to bind others. Here we play the game of possession — to possess and be possessed. But the divine emotion is something else. Here we enlarge our consciousness. We transform our earthbound life into the infinite expanse of light.

An occultist has a universal mind. This mind is his watchtower and he has an eye, which we call the ‘third eye’. Apart from the two eyes, we have a third eye which is in between the eyebrows, a little above. This eye is the eye of vision. This eye an occultist uses as a dynamic, successful and effective weapon.

An occultist has two names — an inner name and an outer name. His inner name is Unwavering, Unswerving Concentration. His outer name is Dynamic Revelation.

In our spiritual life we notice two brothers, occultism and spirituality. Occultism teaches us how to be brave and quick in the battlefield of life. Spirituality teaches us how to be pure and sure, in all spheres and activities of life. Occultism wants to conquer time and space. Spirituality wants to conquer darkness and ignorance. When occultism wants to conquer time and space, it wants to do it in the twinkling of an eye. And when spirituality wants to conquer darkness and ignorance, it does it at God’s choice hour, at God’s chosen hour.

Occultism has no time for daydreams, idle dreams. An occultist has no time for idle daydreams, but he has all the time to see the face of willpower, adamantine willpower within us. He has all the time to see victory’s crown here on earth.

Now, there are various types of occultists, but we can put them into three major categories: an ordinary occultist; an occultist who is a little bit higher and an occultist who is of the highest type. An ordinary occultist will do many things contrary to the divine law, divine dispensation. For name and fame he will do quite a few things which are damaging and destructive.

Here I wish to tell you of an instance. There were three occultists. One occultist lived near a restaurant and he didn’t have enough money to buy anything. Every night he used to threaten the proprietor of the restaurant occultly. He used his occult power and threatened him and commanded him to send him, three times a day, the most delicious meals. It went on for months and years. The proprietor used to send meals three times to this occultist because he was being ruthlessly threatened at night.

Now the second occultist used to live near a courthouse. Everyday he used to see hundreds of people coming out of the court. He used to tell them what was happening in the farthest corners of the globe. They were all wonderstruck to know what was happening in distant countries. And the following morning in the newspaper, everything was proved to be true, just as the occultist had said.

Now the third occultist used to live near a church. Everyday when the sincere seekers used to go to the church, he used to pray to the Lord Supreme to increase their aspiration, to expedite their salvation. Then after they had prayed in the church and as they came out of the church, he used to have the same prayer to the Almighty: “Oh, Father, I pray to You to give them illumination. With my occult power I wish to expedite their spiritual journey. This is my prayer to You. You have given me occult power. I wish to use it for their salvation. I don’t want them to wallow in the pleasures of ignorance. These are my brothers and sisters. They are crying for light and illumination and I wish, with Your kind permission, to use my power to expedite their life’s inner journey.”

Now, when these three occultists passed away, left their bodies, passed behind the curtain of eternity, God said to the first occultist, “I don’t need you. I don’t want you. The world of greed needs you. You go away. You are meant for the world of greed and temptation.” To the second one, God said. “I don’t want you. I don’t need you. The world of curiosity needs you. You are a miracle-monger. You have to go to the world of miracles. I don’t need you.”

To the third one, who helped the sincere seekers in their spiritual pursuit, God said: “I need you. I need you badly. You have served Me. You have served the divinity in humanity. I need you. You are Mine.”

Occultism deals with power. Unfortunately in the West, occultism has been a victim to misunderstanding. Here in the West, you have seen that black magic has taken the role of occultism. Proper occultism will never destroy anyone, will not create any calamity for anybody. But black magic, which you see here in the lowest form of occultism, has created millions and millions of problems. I knew personally six or seven persons who were victims of black magic. They came to me for help and I did help them and they are now free. In merciless ways, they were attacked by some black magicians. Now, many people will be under the impression that all this was done by real occult power. Real occult power would not create this kind of problem. It is the black magic in the lowest vital plane that creates all these problems.

So, when an occultist lives in the soul and works for the soul, he is a divine occultist. But when an occultist lives in the vital and for the fulfillment of the vital, lower vital, emotional vital, impure vital, then he is not living for the soul. He is living to satisfy his own ego, which is undivine, unrefined, obscure, impure and evil.

A genuine seeker of truth and light will not cry for occult power. Everybody has to realise God, but if one says that occult power is necessary in order to realise God, then I wish to say that one is committing a deplorable mistake. There are many occultists who have not realised God. Yes, in the far distant future everybody has to realise God. In that way they will also realise God. No son of God, no human being will remain unrealised. In that sense they are bound to realise God.

What is of paramount importance is God-realisation. When one realises God, if God wants to give him occult power, he will not be able to misuse God’s occult power. A sincere seeker will cry only for God’s light, God-realisation and God-fulfillment. He will never cry for occult power.

You all know of the great spiritual master, Sri Ramakrishna. His dearest disciple was Swami Vivekananda. Once the great master said to his dearest disciple, “Naren, I have all kinds of occult powers. I want to give you some of my occult powers.” Immediately, the disciple said to the master, “Please tell me, will these occult powers help me in my God-realisation?” The master said, “Oh no. Occult power has nothing to do with God-realisation, but if you want to do some work here on earth, at that time occult power can be of some use.” Then Vivekananda said, “No, I want to realise God first — first things first.”

So in the spiritual life, a real spiritual seeker will not cry for this kind of occult power. He will only cry for God-realisation and if God wants that particular person to work for him, naturally God will give him spiritual power, inner power and so forth to manifest Him on earth.

If one really wants God, if one really wants the transcendental truth, then one must enter into the realm of Yoga. Yoga means ‘union with God’. Once we become consciously inseparable with our divine consciousness, unlimited consciousness, then we can see, feel, grow into our highest Reality and the manifestation of this Reality is our birthright.

There are two things we always observe — the power of love and the love of power. When we enter into the lowest form of occultism, we see the love of power and we do not have to go very far for the love of power in politics, and in our daily activities we are exercising our love of power. But power of love is something different. In the power of love, it is love that exercises power, sweetly, divinely and unconditionally. That is the power of love.

Now a spiritual man, a sincere seeker after the truth, will only care for power of love and not love of power. When he is one with God, with infinite consciousness, he will see the power of love. And those who want to show the world their capacity, those who want to exercise their power of ego, will naturally cry for love of power.

We know that when the power of love divinely replaces the love of power, man will have a new name: God.

Is the spiritual life an escape from reality?⁶

Reality. An unaspiring man thinks that the undying pleasure is the only reality. An aspiring man feels that a divine experience is the only reality. A God-realised man knows that God, the Supreme Lover, alone, has the Reality and that God, the Supreme Beloved, alone, is the Reality.

Reality is also God, the fulfilling Light and man, the fulfilled life. The Abode of transcendental Fulfillment has three doors: Love, Freedom and Delight. The Love-Door is open only to him who serves crying humanity. The Freedom-Door is open only to him who serves struggling humanity. The Delight-Door is open only to him who serves the awakening humanity.

The spiritual life is never an escape from reality. On the contrary, the spiritual life is the conscious and spontaneous acceptance of reality in its totality. The idea of an escape for a spiritual seeker from reality is absurdity plus impossibility, for spirituality and reality need each other to be supremely fulfilled. Without reality’s soul spirituality is worse than useless. Without spirituality’s breath reality is more than meaningless. Spirituality with reality means man’s inner cry for perfect perfection. Reality with spirituality means God’s omnipotent will for total and absolute manifestation.

Escape is a base thought. It acts like a thief, the worst possible thief. Into the heart of tenebrous gloom escape gains easy and free access. He who indulges in the idea of an immediate escape unmistakably commits lingering suicide.

Acceptance is wakefulness. Wakefulness is determination. Determination is illumination. Illumination is perfection.

Acceptance, the acceptance of life with a divine attitude, is not only a lofty idea, but the very ideal of life. This ideal of life is realised, revealed and manifested through God’s soul-elevating inspiration and man’s life-building aspiration.

Acceptance of life is the divine pride of true spirituality. To live a spiritual life is our only responsibility.

Arnold Bennet said: “You are not in charge of the universe: you are in charge of yourself.”

I venture to say that if I can be in charge of myself, then God will make me in charge of the universe, His universe.

Acceptance of life divine is the transcendence of human ego. The transcendence of ego is man’s real dignity and true worth. Momentous are the words of our Secretary General U Thant: “The dignity and worth of the human person is not merely a philosophic concept. It is and should be, a working principle of human existence guiding our daily lives.”

There is only one thing that man needs: the inner wisdom. The supreme pilot of the United Nations’ Boat is piloting a countless number of the human family with his wisdom-light to the shores of dream-fulfilled Reality. Inside the heart of the learning humanity, his wisdom-tree is growing slowly, steadily, significantly and triumphantly. Him to quote:

“Is the human race so destitute of wisdom, so incapable of tolerance, so blind even to the simple dictates of self-preservation that the last proof of its progress is to be the extermination of all life on our small planet? I cannot believe that this is to be the end. I cannot believe that humanity is so bereft of common sense as to launch universal suicide.”

Acceptance of life is the assurance of faith. Faith walks along the road of fulfilling and fulfilled immortality. Escape from reality will, in the twinkling of an eye, weaken our resolves, loosen our armour and finally throw us into the very depths of annihilation-sea.

No, never must we make a cowardly escape. We must always be brave. Divine courage is our birthright. We are the chosen hero-warriors of supreme Reality to fight against the teeming, brooding and threatening ignorance-night.

We are brave. The brave deserve the fair. The aware deserve God, the real God. We are aware.

God is responsible

God is responsible for the fulfilment of our snow-white prayer. Sincerity for the accomplishment of our work.

The Bhagavad-Gita — The God Song — Chapter XVIII: Abstention and renunciation

Slowly, steadily and successfully we are now climbing up the last rung of the Gita-Ladder. Here we shall almost have the quintessence of the entire Song.

Arjuna wishes to learn the nature of abstaining from action and the nature of renouncing the results of action and also the difference between these two.

The Lord tells him that Sannyasa is abstention from the desire-prompted action. Tyaga is the renunciation of the fruits of action.

Sannyasa and Sankhyayoga are identical, while Tyaga and Karmayoga are identical.

To our widest surprise, even now in India there is a blind belief that a realised soul does not work or cannot work or even is not supposed to work on the physical plane. Alas, the poor realised soul has to cut his existence from the activities of the world! If such is the case, then I believe that self-realisation is nothing short of a severe punishment, an undesirable achievement, loaded with the heavy weight of futile frustration.

To be sure, a realised person is he who has liberated himself from the snares of stark bondage. If he does not work with his body, mind, heart and soul in the world, for the world, and if he does not help the seekers on the Path, then who else is competent to lead the struggling, crying and aspiring humanity to its destined Goal?

For liberation, renunciation is essential. Renunciation does not mean the extinction of the physical body, the senses and the human consciousness. Renunciation does not mean that one has to be millions of miles away from world activities. Renunciation does not say that the world is the fools’ paradise.

True renunciation not only breathes in this world, but divinely fulfils the life of the world.

The Upanishad has taught us: “Enjoy through renunciation.” Let us try it. Unmistakably we shall succeed.

Right action is good. Desireless action is better. Dedication of the fruits to the Lord is verily the best. This dedication is called the true Tyaga.

Some spiritual teachers hold that action is an unnecessary evil. It leads man to the perpetual bondage. So they violently and proudly assert that all action, with no exception, must be ruthlessly shunned. Sri Krishna graciously illumines their folly. He says that Yagna (sacrifice), Dana (self-giving), Tapa (self-discipline) must not be shunned, for Yagna, Dana, Tapa are the true purifiers. Needless to say that even these actions must be performed without the slightest attachment.

Renunciation of duty to humanity is never an act of spiritual realisation or even an act of spiritual awakening. The bliss of freedom is not for him who forsakes duty for fear of bodily displeasure and mental suffering. His false and absurd anticipation will undoubtedly lead him to the world of ignorance where he will be compelled to dine with fear, anxiety and despair.

He is a man of true renunciation who neither hates a disagreeable action when duty demands it, nor is eager to perform only good and agreeable action.

The Lord says: “To renounce all action completely is not possible for an embodied soul. He who renounces the fruit of action is the true renouncer.”

When desire is totally rejected and personal gain is sincerely not wanted by a seeker, then only perfect freedom shines within and without him.

The Gita is the revelation of spirituality. Sooner or later all must take to spirituality. There need not and cannot be any compulsion. To force others to accept the spiritual life is an act of stupendous ignorance. A real Guru knows that his is not the role of a Commander-in-Chief. He never orders even his dearest disciples. He just awakens and illumines their consciousness so that they can see the truth, feel the truth, follow the truth and finally become the truth.

In numerous ways Sri Krishna has imparted the most inspiring wisdom to Arjuna. At the end he says: “Arjuna, having reflected on wisdom fully, do as you like.”

Something more Sri Krishna has to say: “Arjuna, my supreme word, my inmost secret of all, I tell you. To you I unfold my heart’s secret, for dear to me you always are. Offer your love to me. Devote yourself to me. Bow to me. Give me your heart. You will without fail come to me. This I promise to you. Arjuna, you are dear to me. Surrender all earthly duties to me. Seek your sole haven in me. Fear not, grieve not, I shall liberate you from all sins.”

Truth is to be offered only to the earnest seekers. Sri Krishna sweetly cautions Arjuna that the truth that Arjuna has learned from him is not to be offered to a man with no faith, no devotion and no self-discipline. No, not for him Sri Krishna’s supreme Truth whose life is tinged with mockery and blasphemy.

Now Sri Krishna wants to know if Arjuna has understood him, his revelation. He also wants to know if Arjuna is freed from the grip of delusion and the snares of ignorance.

“Krishna, my sole Saviour, gone is my delusion. Destroyed is my illusion. Wisdom I have received. Thy Grace has done it, thy Grace supreme. Firmly do I stand freed from doubts. My doubts are no more. I am at thy command. Thy command I implore. I am ready. I shall act.”

The human soul has gloriously succeeded in emptying all his ignorance-night to the Transcendental Soul of Eternal Light. The Transcendental Soul has triumphantly sung the Song of Infinity, Eternity and Immortality in the aspiring heart of the human consciousness.

Victory, victory to the crying and bleeding heart of the finite. Victory, victory to the Compassion-flood and the Illumination-sky of the Infinite.

Victory of the world within glows! Victory of the world without grows!

Victory achieved. Victory realised. Victory revealed. Victory manifested.

4.

Today belongs to us. With it we can make our tomorrow possessed either by God or by Satan.

5.

Man is Infinity's Heart.
Man is Eternity's Breath.
Man is Immortality's Life.